【R&D Department of Blaze Display】In the not-too-distant future, theatergoers may be watching movies on huge TVs instead of the movie projectors they’re used to.

Samsung recently unveiled a large LED* screen—like the TVs in many houses—for movie theaters. Previously, only film projectors were equipped to play films in cinemas that nowadays usually use sheets made of white vinyl.

But the South Korean tech giant’s new digital 4K-resolution screens reportedly comply with guidelines from the Digital Cinema Initiatives, a joint venture by movie studios Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. that sets the standard for technical performance, reliability, and quality in digital cinemas. That means it’ll be ready to play cinema-quality videos at launch.

The 34-foot-wide screens are a little smaller than the standard cinema screen, which is about 45 to 65 feet wide and as tall as 30 feet. (IMAX screens are even bigger, at 72 feet wide and as high as 98 feet tall.) But it’s supposed to have a better picture.

Samsung said its LED screen has a strong contrast and a peak brightness that is nearly 10 times higher than the standard cinema projector. There’s also less upkeep. Projectors have to work harder to achieve the same luminance as TVs. The bulbs dim and need to be replaced over time. And the contrast on a projector is dictated by how dark the projector room is.

But projectors tend to be quite easy on the eyes in a dark room like a theater, because of their low light output.